Top 9 Healthy Foods That Accelerate a Healthy Weight Loss!
In today’s world of highly advertised fad diets, it is very difficult for us to know which foods are actually healthy and which foods are not. This program says not to eat an apple, while this other program tells us it keeps the doctor away. Once and for all, we need to know which foods are nutritious so we can all jump off the weight loss roller coaster.
Before I get into the details, it is important to stress that weight loss without proper nutrition is not the road you want to take. No magic pill will ever give you the benefits of eating properly. Stop looking for short cuts and get serious about your health. It is the only way to live a lifestyle that is free of the threats of disease, poor health and obesity.
Healthy Foods Tip #1: Green Vegetables
Vegetables such as spinach and cabbage are very significant in maintaining a healthy body. They are rich in vitamins and minerals. How do they help accelerate weight loss? They are water-rich, which means you are actually filling yourself up with liquids instead of fatty calories.
Healthy Foods Tip #2: Fatty Fish
Did you read that right? Yes, it says fatty! Oily fish such as salmon, mackerel and sardines have omega-3 fats. Despite all the hoopla surrounding the fat-free weight loss craze, your body does in fact need good fat for optimal weight loss performance. Omega-3 fats also takes care of our heart. It prevents stroke and lowers bad cholesterol in our body.
Healthy Foods Tip #3: Green Tea
Anti-oxidants rid our bodies of free radials that can cause damage to our cells and slow the process of healthy weight loss. Green tea offers such a powerful supply of anti-oxidants and vitamins that it has been known to accelerate metabolism by drinking only one cup per day. Tomatoes, red grapes and blueberries are also beneficial for the same reasons, but on a smaller scale.
Healthy Foods Tip #4: Citrus fruits
Oranges, lemons, limes and other citrus fruits are all high in Vitamin C. That helps to prevents colds, asthma and arthritis. What happens when your body is functioning without illness? It performs better! When your body gets the right nutrition, it can perform its own miracles…like giving you more energy and burning off extra weight.
Healthy Foods Tip #5: Carrots
Have you ever heard someone say carrots were unhealthy? I guess they would be if you ate tons of them every day, just like anything else that is abused. The reality is that carrots are good source of Vitamin A and promotes better eyesight. It only takes a half cup worth to work like magic to accelerate healthy weight loss.
Healthy Foods Tip #6. Bananas
This fruit is so nutrition that even monkeys know it is good for them. It can help cure ulcers, diarrhea and stomach cramps because it is high in potassium. If you sweat a lot and need energy, grab a banana. Many athletes consume bananas for energy and alertness. Have you ever seen an overweight monkey or athlete?
Healthy Foods Tip #7: Soy
The soybean is as close to a magic weight loss pill as you will ever find. No, you can not pop them into your mouth and watch the pounds melt away, but when you add soy into your daily diet, you will be amazed to see how quickly your health and weight loss improve at the same time. Soy-based protein smoothies helped me to lose 70 pounds in 4 months 15 years ago. And yes, I still have the weight off!
Healthy Foods Tip #8 Apples
An apple a day keeps the doctor away. It has vitamin C and pectin that flushes out toxins in our body. Toxins are probably the number one reason why people can not lose weight quickly when they eat healthy foods. Apples only work to your advantage when they are eaten raw, so dipping them into caramel sauce or cooking them into a pie will not keep the doctor away.
Healthy Foods Tip #9. Water
It may not be food but it is the most important part of your daily diet. Your body can not function properly if it is dehydrated, and most people do not drink as much as they should. Water also makes you feel full without any calories. Many times people reach for a snack when all they really need is a glass of water.
Along with a daily diet of the foods listed above, you need discipline and a willingness to reach your healthy weight loss goals. Most people get discouraged with losing weight when they fail to grasp the concept of living a healthy lifestyle. Once you develop this mindset, eating healthy will be part of your daily routine…and battling weight gain will be a thing of the past.
Bill Winch is a Personal Wellness Coach whose mission is teaching and coaching others who are struggling with getting healthy, losing weight safely and keeping it off for good. He is also a Certified Business Growth Specialist, former High School and College Business Educator and Counselor, and mentors from his home office in Rochester, NY. If you are interested in receiving his Free Report “9 Weight Loss Myths Exposed” visit his website by clicking on FREE REPORT or by calling him directly at (585) 271-3767 for a free wellness consultation.
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Healthy Foods : An Irreverent Guide to Understanding Nutrition and Feeding Your Family Well
Low carb? No carb? High fat? Non-fat? Low-fat? What’s a family to do with the mass on nutritional information bombarding them? Leanne Ely, the Erma Bombeck of cooking, will dispel myths, offer truths and help families find real-world ways to implement nutrition. Beyond granola and fad diets, this book is for any family seeking a healthy and well-balanced meal plan. *Check out the theme studies for children (Healthy Foods Unit Studied) to teach your child even more about nutrition!
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(out of 45 reviews)
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Review by Rebecca Johnson for Healthy Foods : An Irreverent Guide to Understanding Nutrition and Feeding Your Family Well
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“Quality nutrition can only come from quality food. Quality food is defined as less processed, more natural, more basic foods-like fresh fruits, vegetables, whole grains, etc. Easy stuff to get at the market. There are however, concerns that we are necessarily, having to deal with in this 21st century.” ~Leanne Ely
Need a recipe for Pesto or want to learn to make healthier French Fries? How did mom make those mashed potatoes anyway?
Well, Leanne Ely has the answers and had created a cute cookbook filled with over 100 family-approved recipes.
If your kids are hungry for pizza and there isn’t a frozen pizza in sight, you might enjoy making the Pizza Muffins. If you keep a bottle of spaghetti sauce around, some mozzarella cheese, various toppings and mixed grain English muffins in the kitchen, you will have an easy-to-prepare snack.
The first thing I noticed in this cookbook was an ingredient called “sucanat.” If you are wondering what this is, well, I was too. I found the answer on pg. 51, where the author also lists, kamut flour, carob and whole wheat pastry flour. I was then sent to the glossary for explanations.
The glossary is not where you’d expect it to be, it is on page 59. Ok, so it is that natural cane sugar I’ve seen in health food stores! All the other ingredients seemed pretty normal to me, still, you might want to find a health food store in your area or most grocery stores seem to have an isle of natural foods. If you want to shop online, there is a resource section at the back of the book.
The basic recipe sections:
Breakfast in Bread and Other Comforts
Soup & Salad Bar
Life in the Fast Food Lane
The Main Thing
Dips, Snacks & Tricks
Just Desserts
Some of the recipes include: Buttermilk Cornbread, Mega Manic Muffin Mix, Lentil Soup, Tabbouleh, Mama’s Mashed Potatoes, Quinoa Pilaf, Shepherd’s Pie, Roasted Garlic, Pizza, Hummus and Mexican Chicken Salad. Want to try something sweet? Try the Apple Cake or Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting.
Some of the highlights of this cookbook include the short essays on food at the start of the book. Leanne Ely explains why writing this book became essential for the health of her family and how you can also change your food and change your life.
Leanne believes we all know what works best for our bodies. She has been a victim of the experts who have given her ideal diets to follow. Finally, she decided to just follow the “guru” within. She explains the basics of protein, carbohydrates and fats.
Then, she delves into the dangers lurking in our regular grocery store shelves. After reading chapter three, organic foods will start looking pretty darn good to you. Do you have a child who has allergies or want to teach “manners to the not so mannerly.” I recently read that the top food allergies are nuts, shellfish/seafood, milk, wheat, eggs, a variety of fresh fruits and vegetables, cheese, yeast and soya protein. So even “healthy” foods might not be healthy for everyone. It is really tricky. Before she gets into the recipe section, she also explains basic tools and how to stock the pantry.
Before you hand your very young child a peanut butter cookie, consider their age. Peanut butter should not be fed to children younger than 3 years old. It is almost as difficult to avoid peanut butter as it is to avoid cottonseed oil. It seems to be in everything. Even chocolate can have traces of peanuts as can soy protein bars, etc, etc. In fact, by avoiding cottonseed oil, palm kernel oils and peanut butter, you might notice your skin clearing up if you didn’t realize you had an allergy to begin with. We all live and learn.
If some of the health information intrigues you, you might also want to read: The Metabolic Plan by Stephen Cherniske. It takes health to new levels! A must-read! It has become more and more obvious to me that to live a long and healthy life, you need to read a lot of books!
Choosing a healthy lifestyle seems to be key and it is really this huge puzzle you have to figure out on your own. You find some pieces in books and some pieces are the result of your own experience with food. Leanne Ely gives quite a few great suggestions on how to not only improve the health of your family, she also gives a basic overview of nutrition so you can feed your family well. There are a few puzzle pieces in this book, pieces I have never seen in any other cookbook.
Leanne’s “irreverent” style is cute and you will learn a ton about nutrition and I’m even thinking about using “sucanat” in some of my own recipes.
~The Rebecca Review
Review by Cindy Simon for Healthy Foods : An Irreverent Guide to Understanding Nutrition and Feeding Your Family Well
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I have tried many of the recipes in this book and have yet to find a dud. The pistou soup is warm and filling; the rubber chicken is easy to prepare, delicious, and frugal; and I have never made an easier or tastier pizza crust than the Kneadless Pizza Dough. Even my picky family has raved over everything I’ve prepared from this book. Leanne’s style is unpretentious and her advice is practical. I had to get over the need to have exact measurements (she occasionally refers to using a ‘blob’ or a ‘little bit’, basically relying on you to adjust for your own tastes). It is well worth the time to read the first chapters about general nutrition, written in an easily understandable form and chock full of important advice. Her chapters on food allergies and eating disorders could be lifesavers. This cookbook has quickly become the most favored one on my shelf, and I’m sure I’ll have to get another one eventually because this one will be tattered and covered with food stains. It’s that good.
Review by Teantae Turner for Healthy Foods : An Irreverent Guide to Understanding Nutrition and Feeding Your Family Well
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You want to serve your family a nutritious meal but the children only want burgers and fries. Your son drowns everything on his plate in ketchup and your daughter gets chronic stomachaches. They eat too much or absolutely nothing. What in the world do you do? Leanne Ely, C.N.C., nutritionist, had problems feeding her children and was determined to find out how to help them and herself.”Healthy Foods” is filled with easy to digest information on nutrition that suites the needs of children as well as adults. She doesn’t try to sell you on a new diet or product that doesn’t work. Instead, she provides clear facts along with her own opinions and observations, which are clearly labeled as such. She provides lots of useful links to websites with dietary information for further research. In her playful way, she also provides tips to get your kids to try new foods. How about cutting up food and letting your child pick up the pieces with toothpicks? Mrs. Ely has come up with over 100 family tested recipes to choose from. These recipes are designed to be un-intimidating and good for you. Everything from snacks to breakfast, lunch, and dinner are covered. Recipes are very simply and use easy to find ingredients, though you may need to go to a health or natural food store for some. Some may take offense to the occasional use of processed foods used here and there but they are kept to a minimum and they are the more health conscious varieties.I don’t have children but I do want to eat right. I also have days were I don’t want to cook anything too adventurous. I was impressed with the quality of the information she provided and in the way it was presented. Her guidelines are just that, “guide” lines. You need to make the necessary adjustments to suite your family’s lifestyle and needs.It was fun picking out recipes to try, especially since many recipes had funny titles such as Not Your Mama’s Tuna Casserole, Poor Tater Supper, and Pumpkin Mumkins. I found several recipes I was already familiar with and others with a new twist. Recipes are easily adaptable to what you have on hand and geared towards experimentation. “Fast and Furious Chicken and Rice” has been transformed numerous times depending on my refrigerator’s contents. I’ve substituted cooked ground chicken for chicken breasts and put taco cheese on top. On one occasion I added frozen vegetables and a couple of shots of Tabasco.One of my favorite breakfasts, especially now that the weather’s warming up, has become her “Smoothie Patrol”. It beats a Slim-Fast shake any day, and I can make any flavor I want. If you have kids, here’s one they’ll never guess is good for them.I thoroughly enjoyed this cookbook and will refer to it many times. I have already suggested it to several friends at work who have small children that are problem eaters. If I had to force myself to find a problem it would be that occasionally there is a recipe that is too tame for my taste buds. Here and there I would add a dash of spice to punch it up a bit. I think that regardless of age, this cookbook would find a good home in anyone’s kitchen. From college students to those more mature in age, this is a very useable cookbook indeed.
Review by for Healthy Foods : An Irreverent Guide to Understanding Nutrition and Feeding Your Family Well
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This is by far the best cookbook I own, and it has become my “cooking bible.” Ever since getting married 3 years ago, and learning to cook, I have bought cookbook after cookbook trying to find a few that fit my healthy lifestyle, yet don’t go overboard with the nutritional jargon. As a Registered Nurse with a bachelors of science degree, I have much knowledge in the area of nutrition and how important healthy eating is to one’s energy levels, disease prevention, etc. I was constantly disappointed with cookbooks that only provided one or two interesting recipes. This cookbook has it all…from great-tasting food (REALLY tasty recipes) to excellent and interesting nutrition information that anyone can adapt to their lifestyle. This week I made the chocolate Mama’s PMS cake, Apricot oatbran muffins, Enchilasagna, smoothies, broccoli soup and they were all fabulous. I literally went through my cookbook collection and donated almost all my other cookbooks to the library. I’ve also adapted Leanne’s suggestion to use whole wheat pastry flour in place of white flour and Sucanat (evaporated cane juice) instead of white sugar, and of incorporating more protein into meals (in addition to complex carbs). This book has changed my life and given me more energy. By the way, my husband loves the food from this book, too (we don’t have kids yet).
Review by Betsy R. for Healthy Foods : An Irreverent Guide to Understanding Nutrition and Feeding Your Family Well
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I love this cookbook and I just got it. All the recipes are not only healthy but things you would actually cook for your family. I just made the Double Duty Chicken and it couldn’t have been easier or more delicious. The hamburger soup is also great for a quick dinner that your kids will actually eat. The recipes are all real simple with not too many ingredients. Don’t you hate when you find a recipe you like and it has 20 ingredients in it and takes 2 hours to make? Well, none of those in here! Great cookbook if you’re trying to cook healthy meals for your family.